Maria da Fé is a Portuguese fado singer. Born Maria da Conceição da Costa Marques Refachinho Gordo in Porto, Portugal, on May 25, 1942, da Fé began singing fado at nine years of age, performing in private parties and winning contests. At eighteen years of age, she relocated to Lisbon, where she was hired to perform in major fado houses and subsequently at the Casino Estoril. She released her debut record in 1959, and in the early 1960s, she began experimenting with pop-fado. In 1967, da Fé achieved widespread success with the songs “Valeu a Pena”, “Primeiro Amor”, and “20 Anos”. She married the composer and fado singer José Luís Gordo in 1968, and in 1969, she became the first fado singer to perform on the televised RTP Song Festival. In 1975, da Fé and her husband co-founded the restaurant Sr. Vinho in Lisbon. She has toured internationally in Brazil, the United States, Belgium, and Italy, and performed her major songs “Cantarei até que a voz me doa” and “Portugal, meu amor” in a film starring Robert Wagner. Her album Cantarei até que a Voz me Doa sold over 350,000 copies, and she celebrated fifty years of her career with a concert at the Coliseu dos Recreios in Lisbon in 2009.
